Chapter 262: Recruitment Criteria, Initial Conception of the Five Major Camps

Before Wei Yuan left Beijing, his attitude towards Zhao Zhen was very clear.

The new army, also known as the Danglu Army, does not allow anyone or even any external force to interfere.

The purpose of this is to ensure the combat capabilities and level of the soldiers of the Danglu Army.

However, after hearing what Yang Huairen said, Wei Yuan realized belatedly that even the officials might have thought that he was deliberately controlling the new army.

Or maybe Zhao Zhen was tired of dealing with those nobles and clan members, and wanted Wei Yuan to handle it himself.

No matter which possibility it is, it will bring trouble to Wei Yuan, "I know, I will solve this matter."

When Wei Yuan stood in the camp of the Danglu Army, all the soldiers, as if they had seen their backbone, knelt down on one knee and bowed:

"Greetings to Commander Wei!"

What's more, he raised the weapon in his hand high above his head and kept shouting the word "Wei Commander".

The officers and soldiers in the Danglu Army enjoy a lot of special treatment compared to other Forbidden Forces.

For example, the soldiers of the Danglu Army received the highest pay and the highest pension for those killed in battle. The armor they wore and the weapons they held were the latest and best products of the Zhou Dynasty.

In addition, the soldiers of the Danglu Army often eat meat, and their nutrition is completely up to date.

When he ran out of money, Wei Yuan shamelessly went to Han Zhang to ask for it.

Han Zhang wouldn't give it, but Wen Yanbo would always give it.

Unless neither of them wants to win over Wei Yuan.

But as soon as the military reform incident came out, both of them were thinking about bringing Weiyuan into the game.

In addition, as the commander of the Imperial Palace Division, Wei Yuan can also control the financial income of the Imperial Palace Division, which is also a large amount of input and expenditure.

Coupled with the friendship contracts signed with prominent families and merchants in the southeast last year, Wei Yuan can earn about one million taels of silver every year.

In short, Wei Yuan has applied for almost all the benefits that he could apply for for the Danglu Army.

Not to mention how bluffing Wei Yuan's identity is and how resounding his name is.

Put yourself in their shoes, if you were a soldier in the Danglu Army, with a salary that was much higher than that of your peers and even various guarantees, who wouldn't want to sacrifice your life?

The soldiers also knew very well that everything they had now was given by Wei Yuan.

Therefore, they all admired and respected Wei Yuan.

In fact, without the support of the court, it would be difficult for Wei Yuan to do this.

Rather than saying it was given by Wei Yuan, it was better said that it was given by the imperial court.

However, the soldiers will remember the good things of Wei Yuan, but not the good things of the imperial court.

This is also the reason why the emperor is unwilling to let one general control an army alone.

Wei Yuan did not leave the Danglu army in a hurry, but walked into the commander's tent, intending to write a note stating the pros and cons of recruiting soldiers.

The military system of the Great Zhou Dynasty is generally a son-to-father system. For example, if the father is very old in the army and is the head of the army, then his son can take his father's position as soon as he arrives in the army.

For another example, if you randomly add people from nobles and noble families to the army, spend some money and establish connections, you can get an iron rice bowl.

The birth of the Danglu Army completely shattered this iron rice bowl.

At present, the Yanbian military reform strategy alone is not enough, and the old methods cannot be used to recruit soldiers.

The father-son inheritance system will be removed, and new recruits must not only have age and height restrictions, but also undergo a comprehensive physical examination.

If fathers who have served in the military also want their children to serve in the military, they can prioritize physical examinations.

To put it bluntly, when recruiting soldiers, physical examinations must be arranged.

At this moment, Yang Huairen was guarding Wei Yuan. Seeing so many of his fantastic thoughts, he suddenly said curiously:

"Physical examination? Is there a standard for this physical examination? What are they tested for?"

Wei Yuan explained: "Not only are doctors required to diagnose the pulse of the recruits, but they are also required to conduct physical tests on them."

"For example, our army is currently training on running, crossing obstacles and many other aspects, and will eventually be evaluated."

"Those who meet the physical fitness standards and have no obvious family diseases will be given priority for admission."

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Yang Huairen understood instantly, "Is Commander Wei trying to overthrow the world military system?"

Wei Yuan said: "It is not to overthrow, but to learn from each other's strong points and integrate them with the new system."

"As I said just now, those whose fathers served as soldiers in the army can give priority to the physical fitness test, and the difficulty will be reduced appropriately. If they meet the standards, they can be admitted into the army."

"In addition to the physical fitness test, the brain must also be tested and some basic questions asked to ensure that the recruits will not appear stupid or stupid."

"Aren't those nobles and nobles coming from the fortress? They will be treated equally and undergo a physical test. Those who meet the standard can join the army. Moreover, the age limit for recruiting soldiers is between eighteen and twenty-five. No waiting will be done after the expiration date."

In this way, both the recruitment of soldiers and the subsequent reserve of troops can be improved.

After writing the letter, Wei Yuan planned to go to the palace in person to meet the saint.

Otherwise, he was worried that like Yang Huairen, Zha Zi would not be able to get to the official family at all.

In other words, it arrived, but the officials also insisted on letting the third division stay in the center.

The previous three divisions were Zhongshu Menxia and Privy Council.

Today's Sansi is the three provinces under Zhongshu's sect.

As for major military and state affairs reported by the Privy Council, decisions can be made to the emperor alone without going through the Third Division.

Generally speaking, in the current political situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it is the ‘Four Divisions’ that can influence the implementation of national policies and the direction of court politics.

In addition to the Privy Council and the two prime ministers Han and Wen, the deputy chiefs of the three departments are all served by the Council for Political Affairs.

Participating in political affairs, as the name suggests, means that you can participate in government affairs and be regarded as deputy prime minister.

In this way, the power of the position of political advisor is greatly enhanced.

Han Zhang still serves as the "Pingzhang Shi under Zhongshu's Men" and is the nominal head of the hundred officials.

Wen Yanbo's position is "Pingzhang Military and State Affairs". In fact, with the existence of the Privy Council, Wen Yanbo does not need to interfere with too many important military and state affairs.

This position is more like a false position, above the prime minister.

If you only have this position, it is just a gimmick but no real power. How can you fight with Han Zhang?

Therefore, the Shangshu Province was restored.

Pingzhang's important military affairs and the two positions of Shangshuling can barely compete with Han Zhang.

Party strife is a matter of party strife, government affairs cannot be left behind, and the people cannot be deprived of rest and recuperation, nor can two people have the final say in everything.

Therefore, at this time, it is necessary to increase the power to participate in political affairs.

The checks and balances of all parties can not only ensure that Han Zhang and Wen Yanbo are in conflict, clear the way for the future crown prince to ascend the throne, but also ensure that the imperial court and the country will not be delayed by these things.

If Wei Yuan didn't go to Zazi personally, but went through the process after being reviewed by the Third Division or the Fourth Division, he doesn't know how much time would be wasted.

He now hopes that the guidelines for recruiting soldiers will be finalized as soon as possible.

Otherwise, I don’t know how many people and forces are still staring at the Danglu Army.

If those people passed the rigorous tests and entered the Danglu Army.

Then they will have no status here, and they will start as simple soldiers.

As long as Wei Yuan is still alive, he will never let the pure land of the Danglu Army be polluted in any way.

He wanted to ensure the purity of this army.

Later, Wei Yuan went to the palace in person to meet the saint.

At this time, it was almost evening, and Zhao Zhen had long stopped dealing with government affairs, and was instead lying on the dragon couch to rest.

Hearing Manager Zhu mention that Wei Yuan was coming, he reluctantly invited Wei Yuan to the Xuanzheng Hall temporarily.

"Didn't I let him recuperate at home? Why did he come here again?"

Manager Zhu helped Zhao Zhen to go to the Xuanzheng Hall.

"Looking at the expression on Mr. Wei's face, he seems to be in a hurry."

urgent?

Zhao Zhen sighed helplessly: "It's this brat, no one else would dare to disturb me at this hour."

When he arrived at the Xuanzheng Hall and saw Wei Yuan sitting upright, Zhao Zhen didn't have a good expression at all. He sat slowly on the dragon chair and said in a deep voice:

"Tell me, why do you want to see me so late?"

Wei Yuan handed the newly written note to Zhao Zhen.

"Officials, I have been thinking about it for a long time. Now our country is recruiting soldiers. Anyone who is over sixteen and under forty can join the army."

"I think this age limit is too big. It is better to set it between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five."

"There are also some basic rules for recruiting soldiers. I have also written them down in my notes and asked the officials to read them."

Recruitment guidelines?

Zhao Zhen became interested and looked at it seriously.

I agree very much with the various physical fitness tests proposed by Wei Yuan.

"If we recruit troops according to this method, we can greatly improve the problem of redundant troops."

"But, where can I find so many young people to join the army?"

Wei Yuan had already thought about this question, "Guan family, do you know how many people there are now, including the troops guarding our various states and counties in the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

Zhao Zhen frowned slightly, "I remember that Jiayou made statistics once every three years, about more than one million?"

Wei Yuan said bluntly: "The national army, including the Forbidden Army and the Xiang Army from various regions, totals more than 1.27 million."

"Do the officials know that since Emperor Taizong personally led the expedition, what is the maximum number of troops we have invested in launching national wars?"

Zhao Zhen thought for a while and said: "It should be the battles where Taizong's Northern Expedition was thwarted, such as the Battle of Gaoliang River, which wiped out all the elite founders of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

Wei Yuan nodded and said: "Actually, during the Northern Expedition of Emperor Taizong, or in several national wars in modern times, we, the Zhou Dynasty, invested up to 400,000 troops, and the rest were civilians, about 500,000 to 600,000."

"But the civilians are not counted as part of the army. In every national war, with the strength of our Great Zhou Dynasty, we can support at most 300,000 to 400,000 people fighting on multiple fronts. Have the officials ever thought about why?"

Zhao Zhen fell into silence.

Wei Yuan continued: "Most of the time, too many state and county officers are useless. They are said to farm in their spare time and join the army in wartime. But if a million troops are really mobilized to fight, how much food and grass supplies will be needed?"

"Among the millions of soldiers, how many of them can be fully armed and wear armor?"

"The official family has millions of troops, which is too much. I, the Zhou Dynasty, don't need that many troops."

Whoever said this, Zhao Zhen would understand it as long as that person was not a military general or a distinguished person.

But when these words came out of Wei Yuan's mouth, Zhao Zhen felt a little surprised.

"You want disarmament?"

Zhao Zhen said in surprise.

Logically speaking, as a martial artist, he would be happy to see more troops across the country.

It is rare to see Wu Xun like Wei Yuan who proposes disarmament.

"I propose to change the Yanbian military system first and put forward the recruitment criteria, in order to further select strong men to serve the country."

"I have a bold idea. Once the military reform in Yanbian is successful, we will implement nationwide disarmament and solve the problem of redundant troops once and for all."

Wei Yuan's words were astonishing.

Zhao Zhen seemed to be shocked and coughed several times.

It's not that he hasn't thought about disarmament.

But when you actually do it, you will find that it is extremely difficult to reduce even 100,000 troops, and you will encounter a lot of resistance.

"How many do you want to cut?" Zhao Zhen asked with narrowed eyes.

Wei Yuan said: "According to my estimation, we will cut 300,000 troops, no longer set up wing troops, and only keep one million."

"300,000 in the northwest, 300,000 in the north, 200,000 in the capital, 100,000 in the southeast, and another 100,000 stationed in the Shu Road area to prepare for emergencies."

"No longer set up the capital army system, but replace it with a large camp, set up five large camps, and set up various armies under the five camps, which will be under the unified dispatch of the court, and will no longer be based on the cumbersome garrisons in various states and counties."

"By then, the military and local livelihood strategies will be completely separated. When fighting, they will exchange what they have, have both offense and defense, and obey the dispatch of the court, saving a lot of trouble and not missing the opportunity to fight."

Hearing this.

Zhao Zhen nodded subconsciously.

Regardless of whether this method is feasible or not, he thinks that the idea is very good.

Now the army of the Great Zhou is indeed as Wei Yuan said, scattered in various states and counties, and the numbers are complicated and not unified, making it difficult to deploy them all at once.

In Wei Yuan's words, it is a pile of loose sand, vulnerable to attack.

"So, you came to see me today, or do you want to carry out military reform in Yanbian?"

"Divide the 300,000 troops in Yanbian into three armies, one army with 100,000 troops, who will be the commander of the army?"

"If we want to be like the last years of the previous dynasty, with separatist regimes, who will take this responsibility? You?!"

Zhao Zhen frowned deeply.

Wei Yuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down."

"To prevent the border generals from becoming too powerful, they can be replaced every three years."

Zhao Zhen sneered:

"Replacement? That sounds good, but aren't they still the same border generals?"

"It's okay in the short term, but it will take a long time."

Wei Yuan suddenly took over the conversation, "In the future, five major camps will be set up in our country, and each camp will have various armies under its command. Every three to five years, the commanders of the five camps and the commanders of the armies will be rotated."

"After all five camps have been rotated, it's almost time for the commanders of the camps or the army to retire and return home."

Hearing this, Zhao Zhen's expression eased and said:

"In this case, your Palace Front Department, Infantry Department, and Cavalry Department are no longer necessary."

"Even the military system needs to be changed. Have you thought it through?"

Wei Yuan bowed and said, "I haven't thought about this yet. It's not that I can't think of it, but it's not the right time yet."

"The most important thing now is to completely reform the Yanbian military system to prevent the counterattack of Xixia."

"They suddenly established six major military departments. It's clear that they want to fight to the death with our country after recuperation."

"Your Majesty, this matter must be observed and guarded against!"

The solution given by Wei Yuan is to reform the Yanbian military system.

Zhao Zhen is worried that such a drastic reform will cause problems. What if it really causes civil unrest, mutiny, or a border general takes the opportunity to become powerful and disobey discipline?